Ayodhya: The Case Against the Temple
Encyclopedia
Ayodhya: The Case Against the Temple is a book by Koenraad Elst
that was published in 2002 by Voice of India
.
Elst has written several books on the Ayodhya debate and on the Ram Janmabhoomi
controversy. Koenraad Elst reiterates his view that the Babri Mosque
was built on an ancient Hindu temple, the Ram Janmabhoomi
. The thrust of his argument is that "Future historians will include the no-temple argument of the 1990s as a remarkable case study in their surveys of academic fraud and politicized scholarship."
Elst also writes in detail about claims that certain Hindu rulers, including Pusyamitra Sunga
, were iconoclast
s; evidence to that effect had been previously presented by Romila Thapar
, Richard Eaton and others.
Other books by Elst about the debate include Ayodhya and After: Issues Before Hindu Society
and Ayodhya, The Finale
.
Koenraad Elst
Koenraad Elst is a Belgian writer and orientalist .He was an editor of the New Right Flemish nationalist journal Teksten, Kommentaren en Studies from 1992 to 1995, focusing on criticism of Islam, various other conservative and Flemish separatist publications such as Nucleus, t Pallieterke,...
that was published in 2002 by Voice of India
Voice of India
Voice of India is a New Delhi publishing house, supportive of Hindu nationalist sentiment and political ideology. It was founded by Ram Swarup in 1983 and later joined by Sita Ram Goel, who themselves published extensively under the label...
.
Elst has written several books on the Ayodhya debate and on the Ram Janmabhoomi
Ram Janmabhoomi
Ram Janmabhoomi is the "Birthplace of Lord Rama."Lord Rama is a major God in Hindu theology and the Hindu religion where He is described as an Avatar of Lord Vishnu in Hinduism. The exact location of Lord Rama's birth as stated in holy Ramayan as being in the city of Ayoudhya in Uttar Pardesh...
controversy. Koenraad Elst reiterates his view that the Babri Mosque
Babri Mosque
The Babri Mosque , was a mosque in Ayodhya, a city in the Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh, on Ramkot Hill . It was destroyed in 1992 when a political rally developed into a riot involving 150,000 people, despite a commitment to the Indian Supreme Court by the rally organisers that the mosque...
was built on an ancient Hindu temple, the Ram Janmabhoomi
Ram Janmabhoomi
Ram Janmabhoomi is the "Birthplace of Lord Rama."Lord Rama is a major God in Hindu theology and the Hindu religion where He is described as an Avatar of Lord Vishnu in Hinduism. The exact location of Lord Rama's birth as stated in holy Ramayan as being in the city of Ayoudhya in Uttar Pardesh...
. The thrust of his argument is that "Future historians will include the no-temple argument of the 1990s as a remarkable case study in their surveys of academic fraud and politicized scholarship."
Elst also writes in detail about claims that certain Hindu rulers, including Pusyamitra Sunga
Pusyamitra Sunga
Pusyamitra Sunga was the founder and first King of the Sunga Dynasty in Northern India.Pusyamitra Sunga was originally a Senapati of the Mauryan empire. In 185 BCE he assassinated the last Mauryan Emperor during an army review, and proclaimed himself King...
, were iconoclast
Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
s; evidence to that effect had been previously presented by Romila Thapar
Romila Thapar
Romila Thapar is an Indian historian whose principal area of study is ancient India.-Work:After graduating from Panjab University, Thapar earned her doctorate under A. L. Basham at the School of Oriental and African Studies, the University of London in 1958...
, Richard Eaton and others.
Other books by Elst about the debate include Ayodhya and After: Issues Before Hindu Society
Ayodhya and After: Issues Before Hindu Society
Ayodhya and After: Issues Before Hindu Society is a book by Koenraad Elst published in 1991 by Voice of India.The book is about the Ayodhya debate, but does also discuss Indian politics and communalism....
and Ayodhya, The Finale
Ayodhya, The Finale
Ayodhya, the Finale - Science versus Secularism the Excavations Debate is a book by self-described 'Hindu revivalist' Koenraad Elst published in 2003 by Voice of India....
.